How to attract bluejays (1 Viewer)

[newbbirdwatcher]

Within the past two weeks I have been able to get a load of colorful birds to my feeders, including cardinals, chickadees, golden finches, purple finches and one blue jay, however, the blue jay only came for a short moment. He landed on the middle of the post where I have the bird feeders. He looked at both bird feeders and then flew away. lol.

I had peanuts available for it to eat and I read a few different places that stated they like peanuts. So I am wondering," Is there anything else I can try to attract the blue jay and keep him around for more than a few seconds?"

 

[walternewton]

My thoughts, FWIW - Blue Jays are quite a bit bigger than chickadees and finches and the like, are the feeders large enough for them to securely perch on?

(I have one smallish hanging feeder, which Blue Jays will occasionally manage to awkwardly hang onto from underneath - but usually they'll just knock into it, spill some seed, and eat it off the ground...)

 

[etudiant]

Nature is setting the birds banquet table currently, so your offerings have competition.
For the warmer months, a water feature, ideally with a bit of motion, even if just the drip from a leaky bucket into your birdbath, will have more customers than a feeder.
Once fall begins and the food gets scarcer, you will have plenty of blue jays. They are not shy and will hit your peanut and sunflower feeders.
Note that sunflower seeds are pretty messy because the shells kill the grass. Sunflower hearts are a better bet, imho.

 

[nuthouse]

I have a bunch of blue jays and they sure enjoy the cobs of corn that I have on my squirrel feeders and they also like the peanuts in the shells that I leave out for the squirrels. Newbirdwatcher are you from Rochester MN?

 

[jahra]

Try the large black oil sunflower seeds, the bluejays here love them!
Good luck!

 

[newbbirdwatcher]

My thoughts, FWIW - Blue Jays are quite a bit bigger than chickadees and finches and the like, are the feeders large enough for them to securely perch on?

(I have one smallish hanging feeder, which Blue Jays will occasionally manage to awkwardly hang onto from underneath - but usually they'll just knock into it, spill some seed, and eat it off the ground...)

Hi Walternewton, the bird feeders I have are pretty small, so that is probably why he or she decided not to eat any of the food from the bird feeders, but I did notice him or her hit the bird feeder with its body before flying away. I guess knocking bird feeders around is a common behavior amongst bluejays.

I guess I am going to have to get yet another bird feeder. I don't want to look like the crazy bird lady with a million different bird feeders, but maybe I can switch one out and replace it with a larger one for bigger birds.

 

[newbbirdwatcher]

I have a bunch of blue jays and they sure enjoy the cobs of corn that I have on my squirrel feeders and they also like the peanuts in the shells that I leave out for the squirrels. Newbirdwatcher are you from Rochester MN?

Hi Nuthouse,

I am from Rochester, New York. Moved here from California almost 3 years ago. I have never seen so many colorful birds before, until I moved here. I guess that is why I am so fascinated with them. =)

Do the squirrels ever bother your bird feeder? I caught one today that climbed to the top of the post that I hang the bird feeders on. It jumped and landed and spun around on the feeder for a second and then flew off. lol.

 

[newbbirdwatcher]

Try the large black oil sunflower seeds, the bluejays here love them!
Good luck!

Hi Jahra,

Yep, I have black oil sunflower seeds, but I don't know if I have the large one's? Finches and sparrows eat the heck out of the one's I have. I will have to get a bigger feeder to put some of those in for the larger birds.

 

[newbbirdwatcher]

Nature is setting the birds banquet table currently, so your offerings have competition.
For the warmer months, a water feature, ideally with a bit of motion, even if just the drip from a leaky bucket into your birdbath, will have more customers than a feeder.
Once fall begins and the food gets scarcer, you will have plenty of blue jays. They are not shy and will hit your peanut and sunflower feeders.
Note that sunflower seeds are pretty messy because the shells kill the grass. Sunflower hearts are a better bet, imho.

Hi Etudiant, cool. Thanks for all the great advice. Oops, I didn't know the shells kill the grass? I guess I am going to have to find another way to get rid of them. The birdbath feature sounds neat. I will have to give it a try. =)

 

[Gary Polliard]

The bluejays that come to my feeders like the peanuts in the shell. I put them in a caged suet feeder and for some reason they like the peanuts in the shell more than the peanuts out of the shell, go figure. They also like the large striped sunflower as 'jahra' stated although I do not put it out anymore as I stick to the oil seed. They are a nice bird to look at in binocs with all the different markings on them.

 

[fugl]

If Blue Jays are anything like their close relatives, Steller’s Jays, peanuts in the shell are definitely the way to go. The Steller’s (& scrub-jays) I see regularly in Reno are passionately interested in peanuts & will spend hours collecting & caching them (whenever I do yard work in the spring I find scores of peanuts in all kinds of places where the scrub-jays have hidden them).

 

[DoveWatcher]

Try establishing a separate eating area just for the jays. They really do love whole peanuts. I've seen mine take 2 at a time. They line up like jets on a runway, one after another until the peanuts are gone.

Maybe just set them on a picnic table or some other type of outdoor table. Soon they'll get accustomed to the supply ... and then you'll feel terrible when you run out

 

[newbbirdwatcher]

Try establishing a separate eating area just for the jays. They really do love whole peanuts. I've seen mine take 2 at a time. They line up like jets on a runway, one after another until the peanuts are gone.

Maybe just set them on a picnic table or some other type of outdoor table. Soon they'll get accustomed to the supply ... and then you'll feel terrible when you run out

Great idea! Love the pics by the way. =)

 

[wildbirdblog]

Forget feeders! Peanuts in the shell are the way to go but LINE THEM UP ON YOUR WINDOW SILL! The jays will come right up to the house and you can watch their antics right through the window up close! Jays are some of the most entertaining birds to get in your yard

The ones I have pick every single peanut up and weigh them before deciding which one they are gonna eat first!

 

[jamerbean]

Whee, thread necromancy! :-O

I can't say how healthy it is for them, but we never could keep them out of our dog food bowls.

 

[fugl]

Whee, thread necromancy! :-O

Resurrection?

 

[cadillactaste]

When I put out peanuts still in the shell...I seen more Blue Jays...though I did just pick up a fruit and nut mix that is to appeal to Tufted Titmouse, Hairy Woodpecker, and the Blue Jay. Just put it out today...Excited to see what it brings.

 

[AJP]

Bigger birds like Jays are not graceful landers so if you feeder is small he/she may not feel like it is a sturdy enough place to land. Agreed that Peanuts are a favorite.

 

[mnfriend]

Blue jays LOVE striped sunflower seed on an OPEN platform feeder. If you supply this and they are in the area, they will come!

 

[BennyBoyBird]

Are your peanuts in the shell or out? I find that Bluejays prefer peanuts in the shell far more than peanuts out of the shell. Check out this video on You Tube about feeding birds with peanuts. You'll see the Bluejays going wild for them!
http://youtu.be/INoPMjvYDkc